Make the measurement itself more accessible for the simple worker.
Nowadays each measurement is performed by an experienced worker in the metrology field.
He need to know how to correctly hold the part and place it in the correct orientation.
Also reading a technical drawing is a must, all this know how and experience is very costly.
This profession will start becoming very scares in the coming years as robots replace human worker and “Quality Assurance Inspector” becomes an undesired profession.
Using an computerized vision dimensional measuring system to measure \ dimensionally inspect or inspect for defects on your products will be much easier and more accessible for anyone because all that they need to do is to press the “mesure \ inspect” button and the tool will perform the pre-programed inspection routine .
Although You will need to dedicate someone to learn how to program the machine,The measurement itself or inspection can be done by literally anyone.
Increasing the measurement and inspection speed.
Using today’s method, using a profile-projector or viner calipers the worker can only measure 1 dimension at a time.
Where all of the computerized vision dimensional measuring systems available on the market today allow to simultaneously measure all of the visible dimension in 1 frame using machine vision software.
This will dramatically increase the speed of the inspection process.
Increasing the measurement precision.
Most of the manual tools accuracy is inferior to computer machine vision .
Today machine vision measuring systems use sub-pixel technology, using this tech the computer redefines in sub-pixel resolution the edges the software detects .
Using this method the vision software can place a line on the edge infinitely better than a human can place the crosshair of the comparator on the edge of the part, this method is also used on circles.
Entirely eliminating operator dependency.
When there is a human in charge of performing a task there is a chance for error, especially if the task is repetitive.
Using the most advanced manual tools it is rare that 4 people measuring the same feature on the same part will get the same result.
This is because 1 QA inspector turns the micrometer a turn too much or on the profile projector he sees the edge is a little bit more to the left then the last QA inspector, this is a huge disadvantage of the traditional tools still used today.
The machine vision is totally objective once the line detection is done it will repeat the same measurement with the same result no matter how many times you measure it and how many people measure it.
Increasing measurement repeatability.
This one is very similar to the previous one but still needs to be a reason on its own.
Repeatability is key for reliable QA process, traditional measurement tools repeatability is derived from 2 factors.
Human error (Previous reason)
The repeatability and accuracy of the tool itself
The tool itself can lose repeatability because of lots of moving parts like a Profile projector, or just ware.
Machine vision optical systems don’t get tired and most of them don’t have any moving parts that influence the measurement.
Automatic documentation.
Each measurement done by the QC inspection needs to be manually inputted to some kind of a form.
This is time consuming and leaves room for error where can wrong number can be written.
Today’s computerized vision dimensional measuring systems automatically fill a form for each part with the defined tolerances and resulting measurement.
Each measurement is recorded with a time stamp and more parameter(this varies between manufacturers of such systems).
This will also speed up the process saving valuable time filling forms with each measurement
Overseeing the work form distance.
Most vision inspection machines are able to connect to the network.
This allows whoever is incharge of overseeing the QA process full control over the machine from anywhere.
He can provide help to however is operating the machine(remember we replaced the expert with a regular worker) from the comforts of his office, Or even contact the machine manufacturer’s customer support for help and they can help online.
Easy SPC and trend recognizing.
Because the software dumps each measurement with its tolerance, timestamp, lot or batch and other configurable parameters, statistical process control never been easier.
This allows you to explore and investigate every aspect of the QA process for each part with almost no effort.
Another advantage of this feature is full traceability of each product you make.
If any complaints from the customer come you can investigate the specific faulty product measurement data.
Also traceability is a hot topic now in the medical field.
I think The only place left for traditional tool like micrometers and calipers are on the shop floor where you need an instant undocumented measurement Vision machines are also capable of this but this is not their purpose.
If you want your QA process lean and efficient you should consider upgrading to a computerized vision dimensional measuring system.